Construct ZnSeTe/ZnTe Nanostructures with the Tunable Emission from 450 to 760 nm

Developing heavy-metal-free materials with wide tunable emission is important to light-emitters. The alloying method is utilized in ZnSe magic size clusters (MSCs) with Te to form ZnSeTe and manipulate the band gap structure in ZnSe. The growth of ZnTe on alloyed ZnSeTe quantum dots (QDs) forms ZnSeTe/ZnTe core/shell nanostructures, showing the tunable photoluminescence emission peak from 450 to 760 nm with the different thicknesses of ZnTe shell. This is the record tunable range of 310 nm in the full visible and near-infrared spectra based on zinc chalcogenide nanostructures. Further coating thin ZnSe and ZnS shell on ZnSeTe/ZnTe core/shell nanostructures significantly improves the stability and quantum yield of nanoparticles. This work offers a new, cadmium-free material choice for optoelectronic devices aligning with environmental and performance requirements for modern applications.